It’s no surprise that Modern Warfare 2’s launch was anything less than a huge success considering the game was pre-ordered over 4.5 million times but VGCHartz has rounded up some preliminary week one data and the results are quite outstanding.

It seems that all together, the game has sold close to 9.4 million copies across the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC raking in an astounding $600 million for Activision. Now let’s just wait until the holiday season comes and goes and we’re sure to be seeing some ridiculous numbers.

I think it’s safe to say we will be seeing Modern Warfare 3, 4, 5 etc because I mean, it is Activision, after all.

Have you spent money on Call of Duty: World at War DLC? According to recent reports, chances are you have — It seems that the average World at War owner has spent $9 on DLC.

Gamasutra reached this conclusion by saying the 3 DLC maps for WaW currently on the market have sold nearly 7 million copies netting Activision close to $45 million in revenue. Do the math and that apparently comes out to U.S. WaW owners spending on average $9 on DLC.

So folks, need more proof that both World at War and Modern Warfare 2 are sure to see a very DLC packed future?

No word on a date for the Wii version, or specifics on which handheld platforms will be developed for.

Along with the port, THQ also announced that the series will become an annual franchise, meaning a new game for the series will be released every year, with new gameplay features and modes. Hopefully the game will not turn into another Madden.

It seems that the publisher is so fed up with piracy that they have plans to combat the issue with their own firepower. Yves Guillemot, head of Ubisoft, speaks of the piracy problem:

“Altogether on console, the piracy is low. On the PC the piracy is quite a lot. We are working on a tool that would allow us to decrease that on the PC starting next year and probably one game this year.”

So what do they have cookin’ over at Ubisoft? Let’s hope they aren’t getting ideas from EA as we saw how well that was recieved with Spore.

According to recent reports, in the US The Sims 3 sold a full 820,000 copies in June alone. Added to that, Gamasutra strongly believes the game has sold over 2.5million copies globally.

Just to put that into perspective, the entire Sims franchise had sold over 100 million copies worldwide as of April 16th, 2008.

I think it’s safe to say that The Sims is definitely here to stay.

The DS is currently holding the top spot in hardware sales, with its home console counterpart trailing behind. Amazingly, the PlayStation 2 is still almost selling as much as the PlayStation Portable. The price is obviously a big factor in consumer decisions, with the failing economy and other circumstances.

As for software, Prototype debuted and sold over 400,000 copies, topping the charts. Many sports titles follow the sandbox action game, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Fight Night Round 4.

Hardware:

1. Nintendo DS 766.5K
2. Wii 361.7K
3. Xbox 360 240.6K
4. PlayStation 3 164.7K
5. PSP 163.5K
6. PlayStation 2 152.7K

Software:

1. PROTOTYPE (360) 419.9K
2. UFC 2009:UNDISPUTED (360) 338.3K
3. EA SPORTS ACTIVE BUNDLE (Wii) 289.1K
4. TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 10* (Wii) 272.4K
5. WII FIT (Wii) 271.6K
6. FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 (360) 260.8K
7. FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 (PS3) 210.3K
8. MARIO KART W/WHEEL (WII) 202.1K
9. RED FACTION:GUERRILLA (360) 199.4K
10. INFAMOUS (PS3) 192.7K

via NeoGAF

Considering the hype surrounding the game, this should come as a surprise to no one — Dragon Quest IX has sold 2.3 million copies in its first 2 days on the Japanese market.

That means that in addition to its 2 million pre-orders, Dragon Quest IX was purchased an additional 300,000, for those of you not good with a calculator. Additionally, it was reported that 81.56% of the game’s inventory was sold out nation wide which means it was sure to have sold out at some retailers.

Now all we have to do is play the waiting game until Dragon Quest IX drops in the US. Only then will we know if American gamers have the same interest for the Dragon Quest franchise as the Japanese.

via Joystiq

Monster Hunter is widely known to be a huge success, especially in Japan, but I doubt anyone could have predicted the exact scale of said success.

Capcom is excited to announce that Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has sold 3.5 million copies in Japan. Not only is that a huge feat, but it’s a record; the only PSP game ever to hit the 3.5 million copy mark.

With Monster Hunter Freedom Unite only recently hitting retail in the US it’s still to be decided if American gamers will take to it like the Japanese.

Read (Destructoid)

The Entertainment Merchants Association has just released a study showing that a new ‘point of sale activation’ technology could increase media sales by as much as six billion and reduce costs by up to $800 million. If this technology is put into play, anyone who nabs a disc and sneaks out of a store will get home to find that their game, movie or cd isn’t anything other than a fancy coaster. In order to get a working product you’ll have to have the disc activated by the staff behind the counter. The EMA is now looking into the cost of deploying this technology which, if cost-effective could be in retailers by late 2010.

While many point out that for many retailers it’s more often the staff that are stealing games than anyone else, this technology would also discourage theft by shipping companies that transport the merchandise to the retailer. It’s unknown how this would work for online retailers like Amazon, but with most retailers using established shipping companies like UPS and FedEx one has to assume that with the level of information they record regarding their shipments it’ll be simpler to avoid thefts.

Some are estimating that the next generation games will cost up to $60 million to develop and one publisher is already expresing concerns over current generation costs. Activision boss Bobby Kotick is suggesting that unless there’s a price cut for the PS3 the company might have to reconsider supporting the console: “I’m getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform.”

He suggests that if the price for the console doesn’t drop the attach rates will diminish, following that line of thought with: “if we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console – and the PSP [portable] too.”

Considering the as-yet untapped potential of the console and Sony’s insistence that their strategy is long term, things could still be turned around, but if enough publishers and developers shift their efforts elsewhere the console could founder before it has the chance to take off, though I doubt this is actually going to happen. This could very well be nothing more than posturing to achieve some greater concessions from Sony in their business arrangements.

A company memo was circulated instructing managers that their policy regarding pushing used copies of games sixty days after their release is being rescinded. This was apparently done in favor of better vendor relations. Though some in the industry say used game sales aren’t as much of a threat as some think, many publishers and developers aren’t terribly happy that potential revenue is going into the pockets of those who simply run a chain of retail stores instead of those who actually create the games.

Everyone else is too it seems because Treyarch announced that in the first weekend the second map pack was downloaded over a million times. The $9.99 content pack contains four maps, including Shi No Numa. Yes, that’s right, it’s another zombie level. That’s got a lot to do with the appeal of this game for many I’m guessing. If you’re unfamiliar with the mode, it’s an online co-op mode similar to the Gears of War horde mode where players face wave after wave of enemies, only this time they’re a combination of two popular video game enemies: Nazis and zombies.

That’s why Microsoft isn’t planning on releasing the new controller until they think its ready and has a good lineup of launch titles to get people using it. They’ve got Rare working on games for the device, though fans are concerned given some of the unimpressive 360 launch titles the developer put out in the past.

Microsoft claims they’re not going after the casual gaming market or any other existing market segment with the Natal. They’re aiming to get people who still aren’t gaming into the mix, claiming that for many the controller is a barrier which they hope to eliminate by making all the controls dependent upon simple body motion. At this point it seems unlikely that they’ll get too many more people involved. There’s still a big portion of the populace who consider video games and anti-social waste of time.

Peer to peer downloading programs changed that and Bittorrent has been one of the most popular downloading programs in years. Though the first protests came from the music industry thanks to Napster, the video games industry has gotten in on the act, with many companies complaining that developing for PCs has become nearly impossible due to rampant piracy. Those who do often institute draconian DRM measures, frustrating players and anarchists everywhere.

The Sims 3 was leaked and downloaded over 180,000 times from May 18th to May 21st, yet the DRM-free game has sold over 1.4 million copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful launches in EA’s history. EA has been one of the main proponents of the argument that piracy is killing the PC gaming industry, but their arguments seem to have been invalidated by this.

My guess is that the theory behind piracy goes like this: you’ve got a small subsection of the market who will pirate a game no matter what. Then you’ve got people who are willing to pay full price for a robust, well-crafted experience, but don’t want to pay full price for something that they think might be cool yet is only netting five or six out of ten on the reviews. In the end even if the panic-mongers at EA are right and piracy is a huge problem, the industry will simply evolve into an online focus where verification is built into games and money will be made by subscription fees or optional VIP packages in free games.

There’s a wide range of pricing for applications on the digital distribution store; many apps are free while many others charge a mere few dollars. Some games charge more and there are some more functional apps that can cost as much as twenty to thirty dollars. The marketplace is incredibly hyped with stories of people making small fortunes on the sweat of their brow (or fingers) being talked about as if everyone’s doing it.

Unfortunately according to a successful appstore developer, it’s not exactly the gold mine everyone’s hoping for. Developer Rick Strom has several applications that are highly ranked, including one which is #34 on the social networking listing. He points out to the public that there was a general ‘race to the bottom’ as soon as the app store debuted. After all when you’re looking for a tower defense game or movie listing application, why pay five dollars when there’s one for less than a buck, or even better, completely free? Though Apple boasts incredible numbers of downloads, they haven’t said how many of those downloads are of free applications.

While there are some people making money from hard work and successful apps, Strom points out that it’s like winning the lottery: the potential is there for it to happen to anyone, but more likely you’re going to walk away disappointed.

It seems that the system is even more popular than its predecessor; it has already sold over a million units across Europe since its launch in April of this year. It took a mere eight weeks to reach this milestone, a significant accomplishment when you consider that the DS Lite took thirteen weeks to sell over a million units. The previous models are still popular too, with half a million units of prior iterations being sold since the launch of the DSi.

Resident Evil 5 was released a little over 2 months ago and recieved generally positive feedback from the critics but we were left in the dark in terms of sales numbers until now — During the Reuters Global Technology Summit held in Tokyo last week Capcom CFO Kazuhiko Abe made a statement that the game has sold around 4.9 million copies since its March 13th release date.

About 4.4 million, Abe says, were sold during the game’s release month with the additional ~500,00 being sold in April. Despite being a rather huge drop in sales Capcom apparently expected it saying they only plan to sell another ~500,000 copies through March 31st, 2010.

Kotaku notes the fact that games with a “hardcore, existing audience” such as Resident Evil 5 sell well in their first few months but once all said hardcore fans actually purchase it sales drop dramatic amounts. Now I’m just hoping to see Resident Evil 5 for like $20 at Gamestop, then I’ll be happy.

Don’t panic people, because there’s a rational explanation for all this. When Mr. McIntyre suggests that video games are a reflection of how much consumers have to spend, he’s correct, but he fails to account for the fact that unlike other discretionary spending such as food or apparel, the video game market fluctuates depending on what’s available. There’s a near continual trickle of video games released year round but the titles that really spur sales are fewer and often clustered around certain periods of time. In April 2008 both GTA IV and Mario Kart Wii were released, two powerhouse titles that gobbled up cash, while this year April didn’t have much to compete.

Falling console sales can simply be attributed as much to market saturation as low cash flow. In 2008 the Wii and PS3 had been out for around a year and a half. Now they’ve been available for two and a half, with the Xbox 360 having been on the shelf even longer. No matter how powerful, intuitive or flashy a console is eventually it’s going to hit the point where the number of people hoping to buy one drops off.

Right now fans are holding out for the big titles. E3 is on the horizon, meaning that many developers are holding back their big guns to debut at the event, thus achieving the maximum publicity. Games aren’t struggling, you’ve just got a lot of gamers playing through old favorites while they wait for the next big game instead of picking up less impressive titles.

Common with earnings reports, sales numbers for games were released as well. The number showed that THQ’s two best franchises were doing fairly well; Dawn of War franchise has sold over 4.5 million units, while the Saints Row franchise has sold over 5 million units.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was recently quoted as saying “The Wii is in the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japanese market” after the announcement that the PS3 outsold the Wii for the first time in 14 months. He then went on to say, “The current condition in the Japanese market is not the one we want.” 

So that means a price-cut would be in line, correct? Nope, when questioned about a price-cut Iwata responded with “A price cut in a difficult economy cannot really excite the market and drive up sales. As of now I really don’t think that a price cut is a good option for us.”

Could this be the end of the Wii dynasty? Or perhaps Japanese consumers are awaiting titles like Wii Sports Resort. Whatever the case, I’m sure Nintendo could wait it out considering the success of their recently launched Nintendo DSi console.

Read (ABS-CBN News)